OnePlus Nord N20 5G review

An introduction.

OnePlus's strategy began to return in 2020 and the Chinese brand continues to change as it learns how to consolidate its offerings in Europe and North America.  Especially in the US, OnePlus is offering its flagship 10 Pro, and two Nord models - the N200 5G, and now the N20 5G.

The N20 5G is priced at $ 282 and is in a highly competitive segment of the US prepaid market.  The Nord N20 5G is a T-Mobile / Metro exclusive in North America, though it is a rebranded Oppo Reno7Z 5G that easily sells in other markets.

Compared to its predecessor, the Nord N20 brings a brighter AMOLED display with in-display scanner, higher capacity battery and a beautiful design.  The N20 5G leaves an 8MP ultra wide camera but has a 64MP main camera and a 2MP mono and macro camera.  It also updates the battery capacity and adds an in-display scanner - this is now possible by switching to AMOLED.

OnePlus Nord N20 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 159.9x73.2x7.5mm, 173g; Schott Xensation Up cover glass, plastic frame and back cover
• Display: 6.43" AMOLED, sRGB, DCI P3, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 6GB, 128GB; LPDDR4x, UFS 2.2.
• OS/Software: Android 11, Oxygen OS 11.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, PDAF; Monochrome: 2 MP, f/2.4; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.4.
• Video capture: Main: 1080p@30fps, 720p@120/30fps, EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4,500mAh; 33W SuperVOOC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Bluetooth 5.1; GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo, A-GPS.

The Nord N20 comes out of the box with Android 11/OxygenOS 11, so it's missing the weird combination of OxygenOS and ColorOS that comes with version 12 preloaded on the OnePlus 10 Pro.  Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 695 5G is now 6nm processing versus the 690s 8nm process.  With a higher battery size and the switch to AMOLED, and a more efficient chipset, we expect a significant improvement in battery endurance and a significant improvement in CPU performance.

The OnePlus Nord N20 5G releases one of OnePlus' most unique features: the physical alert slider.  Well, that's not a watershed deal for any device in this price range, and until now, we're used to the idea of ​​Rebranding OnePlus devices to Oppo and selling them under the more established OnePlus brand in the US.  Oppo does not have a presence in the US market.

With the Nord N20 5G, OnePlus is integrating its budget 5G smartphone offerings under the Nord brand.  The US only looks at affordable OnePlus devices and selects flagship OnePlus models, so it will be interesting to see how the company continues its brand across North America.  To get started we are going to unlock the Nord N20 5G and see what we are working on.

Unboxing

The Nord N20 5G comes with the essentials: a 33W SuperVOOC charger, a USB-C to A charging cable, documentation, and a SIM-Eject tool.  We want to include OnePlus stickers and the factory case, but this red box appears to be exclusive to the OnePlus flagship.

Now that we've dispatched the new Nord box, let's delve into the hardware of the device, the beautiful shape, the materials, and the onboard connectivity.